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Pound Gains As Brexit Deal Gets Closer

• Posted by currencies in Bank of England, Brexit, Currency, Dollar, Economy, EUR, GBP, Sterling, UK, Uncategorised
• October 10, 2018
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Sterling hit a new high versus the euro and added to recent gains against the dollar this morning on optimism that Britain and the European Union can agree a Brexit deal soon.

Britain’s ITV News reported late on Tuesday that the two sides had made progress in negotiations over an Irish border backstop, a key hurdle in reaching a Brexit deal.

We’ve been here before, but this pound move might have a little further to run, especially if the above rumours are correct.

The Times newspaper also reported that around 30 to 40 lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party would be prepared to back a Brexit deal that British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to strike with the EU.

We had a packed morning of UK economic data releases. Industrial and Manufacturing production came in stronger than expectations, however Trade Balance, Construction and Services data came in worse. We had a mixed bag, and this had no real impact on the rates either way.

UK GDP MOM contracted by 0.1%, however the last 3 months to August the UK economy grew by 0.7% compared to 0.6% the 3 months before.